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Family Bios: July 21, 2018

We will meet a family from Iraq who has had an arduous journey to America. The mother (38) left Iraq in the year 2000 when she was 20 years old. In the past 18 years she has been in Syria, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Sweden. She was sent back to Iraq from Sweden and then escaped to Syria where she stayed until the war broke out. She went back to Turkey in 2008 where she stayed and waited to get refugee status and was relocated to New Mexico. The mother and her two sons (5, 11) arrived in New Mexico May of 2017. The father stayed in Turkey. The mother hoped for assistance from relatives n Phoenix but it was not to come. She moved into a shelter. They received great guidance in the shelter and have been set up in an apartment that is safe. The boys will begin school in August and both speak English well. The 11-year-old boy likes soccer, Star Wars and Taekwondo. The 5-year old boy likes cars and trucks and has a good sense of humor. The mother is eager to find a job to start paying the bills. She peaks some English and has previously worked in a hotel.

We will meet a family of four women from Burundi – – grandmother, mother and two daughters (18, 11). They arrived in Phoenix just a few weeks ago. The young girls are very eager to learn in school. The oldest would like to be a doctor and the youngest would like to be a police officer. They are pleased to be safe in Phoenix.

And we will meet a family from Iraq, a couple and their two children (a daughter, 16 and son, 14). The family has been in the United States for a year. They were settled in Michigan and moved to Phoenix very recently. The family moved to AZ because of better employment opportunities. They arrived to Phoenix with few possessions and are hard at work on their new start here.